Bond for railway-rails.



State of Pennsylvania, and MILTON W. RIS- UNITED STATES Patented June 9, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN RISBRIDGER, OF ORTHEAST, PENNSYLVANIA, AND MILTON W. RISBRIDGER, OF CLEVELAND, 01110.

BOND FOR RAILWAY-RAILS.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 730,403, dated June 9, 1903.

Application filed October 17, 1902, Serial No. 127,630. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN RISBRIDGER,1'6- siding at Northeast, in the county of Erie and BRIDGER, residing at Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, citizens of the United States, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bonds for Railway-Railsg and we do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to electric bonds for railway-rails; and the invention consists in a bond constructed and operating substantially as shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plain side elevation of our. improved bond, and Fig. 2 is an edge View thereof. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line an ac, Fig. 1.

this reason the said bond may be located in any convenient relation acrossthe joint of the rails, and if it be not convenient to connect through the webs of the rail (not shown) it can be placed to connect through the flanges of the rails and above or below said flanges. The exact location of the bond is therefore not in itself material.

Now referring to the bond itself as an article of manufacture and use the same is shown as comprising the two heads or terminals A and the two sets of connecting strands or leaves B. These are shown herein as formed from spring sheet metal, preferably copper,

- and comprise a series of several such leaves or conductors in each set, so as to afford a large and free conducting-surface for the current. These leaves or strands are permanently secured to the end parts or heads A and are bent reversely in seriessay about as shown-to afiord slack for possible play between'the ends of the rails if they get loose in service.

As heretofore made the strands or leaves have been exceedingly liable to break 01? di rectly at the heads by reason possibly of crys tallization of the metal at that point, coming from the play of the ends of the rails as cars pass over them. If the rails are very loose, the play may become considerable and soon wear out a bond, and there has been much annoyance and expense by reason of strands Bbeing broken short off at the heads; hence ourinvention, which is intended to overcome this objection and does overcome it by means of the supporting fingers or projections 2 on both heads and which overlap the ends of strands B on diverging lines relatively, as shown. With these projections to protect the strands at the place of strain and danger the strain is taken away fronrthe heads and distributed over the divergent surfaces of the projections, and in this way breakage is avoided and the bond will last for an indefinite period. As here shown, the fingers 2 come on opposite sides of the strands; but 0bviously any equivalent construction may be substituted for the fingers. However, fingers alone are at present preferred.

Each head has a stud 4 at one side for making connection with the rails, and each stud has a center point 5, and a corresponding center point 6 is found on the opposite side of the head. This latter side of the head is otherwise fiat and plain. The studs 4 are rigidly fixed in or through the webs of the rails by anysuitable means.

In practical'use these bonds may be all the way from four to fourteen inches in length,

as may be found best.

What we claim is- 1. A railroad-bond comprising a set of heads and each head having a pair of flaring projections, and flexible strands secured in said heads and overlapped part way at their ends by said flaring projections, substantially as described.

2. In electric bonds for rails, a bond having two separate series of strands bent between their ends to afford slack, and a head at each end securing said strands having flaring proof the strands beyond said heads, snbstan jections overlying the ends of said strands, tially as shown. substantially as shown. 3. In electric railways, an electric bond for '5 railway-rails comprising a head at each end I and a double series of flat strands uniting said v Witnesses: heads, and the said heads each having a pair ALEX. POPE, of diverging projections overlapping the ends WM. SCOULLER. 

